would have failed in their purpose of preventing war. But to quote Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Mackenzie (ex Chief Polaris Executive): 'It is no use pretending to be able to do the job. The stakes are too high to rely on bluff'.
Such was the fearsome capability of the 7500-ton HMS Resolution, Renown, Repulse and Revenge that, even in peacetime, the 'opposition' was never able to subscribe to that proverbial saying 'Out of sight, out of mind'. And when the Polaris boats were eventually withdrawn from service in the mid to late 1990s, having performed their role admirably for 30 years, four even more awesome 16000-tonne Vanguard Class ballistic missile submarines built at Barrow and armed with sixteen 6500 n mile range Trident II D5 ballistic missiles entered service, thus maintaining the eternal vigilance role and the
